FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Uniper's core profit fell around 11% in the first quarter, mainly due to lower wholesale prices that impacted margins at the bailed-out utility's fleet of gas-fired power plants.

First-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, tax, appreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) came in at 885 million euros ($953 million), Uniper said in a statement on Tuesday.

The company, which is preparing to return to the stock market after having been nationalised in the wake of Europe's energy crisis, also confirmed its 2024 target corridor for adjusted EBITDA of 1.5 billion to 2.0 billion.

"Uniper's start in 2024 is good and in line with our expectations. The capital market is acknowledging Uniper's positive performance in recent months," Chief Financial Officer Jutta Doenges said.

Adjusted net profit for the period rose by around a quarter to 570 million euros and the group's net cash position increased to 4.5 billion euros, Uniper said.

($1 = 0.9289 euros)

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz, editing by Andrey Sychev)